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High street stalwart Next is curbing its enthusiasm.

The company met some of its own grimmer expectations in the three months ending in April, with full-price sales shrinking by 3 per cent, and total sales declining by 2.5 per cent, led by a hefty pullback in its retail business, where full-price sales declined by over 8 per cent.

Now, it is trimming its more optimistic longer-term views, taking the upper end of its full-year pre-tax profit forecast down to £740m, from a rosier previous expectation of £780m.

“The UK consumer environment remains challenging, particularly in the clothing and homeware markets, and real wage growth is now close to zero,” it noted in its trading statement.